


Keeping Up With The Maheswarans

by iippo



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 23:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13468980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iippo/pseuds/iippo
Summary: Connie wants her parents to meet someone special. Set somewhere in Season 3, after "Beach City Drift" (S3.E11)References to "Fusion Cuisine" (S1.E32), "Nightmare Hospital" S2.E16 and "Doug Out" (S4.E22)





	Keeping Up With The Maheswarans

Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran were sitting in their living room talking about fries when Connie came in.

"Hi sweetie," Connie's mother greeted her.

"Hi mom, dad. I'd like to ask you both something." Connie said. She seemed... nervous but not afraid - more like she was excited and trying to reign herself in.

"You remember when we went to dinner with Steven's family for the first time, when Mr. Universe came to the restaurant with Alexandrite, who turned out to be a fusion of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl..." Connie spoke fast, and her parents simply nodded along.

"Well, we've discovered that Steven and I can do that too. Fuse. We're not as big as Alexandrite though," she hurried to add, seeing the expressions on her parents' faces shift towards utter fear. "We're still regular human sized."

"Anyway, what I wanted to ask is, would you like to meet... us. Our fusion. What I mean, I would want you to meet Stevonnie, would you be okay with that?"

Dr. Maheswaran didn't know what to say, but her husband piped up straight away: "Yes of course, Connie. It sounds like this is something that's important to you, so we will support you in whatever it is you choose to pursue." Dr. Maheswaran smiled and concurred. Connie wasn't sure her dad quite understood what she was asking of them, but she was glad he was so supportive.

"Would tomorrow be okay? We could go pick up Steven and then come back home and do it here." Connie tried to think this was nothing more out of the ordinary than a change in tennis practice schedules, even though she felt like this was huuuuge. They agreed on the practical details, after which Connie said: "Okay great, I'll go tell Steven. Thank you!" And with that she rushed upstairs.

Mr. Maheswaran commented on tomorrow's plan, but his wife was distracted. She had seen some very unsettling gem things and she couldn't shake out of her mind the image of that strange gem fusion creature that had wreaked havoc in her hospital. _We are human sized_ , Connie had said. But she hadn't said they were human _shaped_.

But she didn't want to tell her husband these things now, at the eve of this meeting. He would only panic all night if she did that. He didn't need to be thinking of monsters during his nightshift. She knew what that was like all too well. She tried to instead think of the conversation she had had with Connie after she and Steven had defeated the monster. Her daughter was capable. She should trust that Connie knew what she was doing.

* * *

The next day Mr. Maheswaran pulled up to the driveway of his home with Steven and Connie in the car. Dr. Maheswaran greeted them at the door.

They made their way to the living room and sat down.

"Do we need to make any preparations?" Dr. Maheswaran asked, glancing nervously around the room.

"Not really. What will happen is we'll dance a little, our bodies will turn to light and after a moment Stevonnie will be standing here instead of us," Connie explained. "And you can ask us to unfuse at anytime and we'll do it," she added and Steven nodded too for emphasis.

"So you can hear us while you are inside... Stevonnie?" Mr. Maheswaran asked.

Steven and Connie exchanged a glance. "It's... not exactly like that, but, kind of?" Steven answered. "Are you ready?"

So they began. Steven and Connie were both really nervous about dancing in front of an audience and for a moment they thought they wouldn't be able to do it. But then Steven's gem started to glow and they both felt that warm feeling - the love in their friendship as a physical sensation - and smiled with relief at each other as they disappeared.

Stevonnie stood in the Maheswarans' living room with a soft smile on their face. "Hi. Dr... Mom."

This time Mr. Maheswaran was the one that didn't know what to say as he was busy gawping at Stevonnie, but Dr. Maheswaran was so relieved that Stevonnie looked so... familiar that she just smiled and said "hello" back. She couldn't help but feel like this was still her child.

Dr. Maheswaran came closer and put her hands on Stevonnie's upper arms and held the fusion at arms' length to look at them. She went all-out auntie mode: "Look at you, you're so gorgeous and so tall and-" she paused when she saw what Stevonnie was wearing, which was an amalgamation of the clothes Connie and Steven had been wearing - all of which were a bit short on them. "What are you wearing? That t-shirt bears your midriff!"

"Well I kind of have a growth-spurt every time we fuse," Stevonnie explained, feeling awkward and pulling their t-shirt down over their stomach. "If Steven had to walk around wearing a shirt that would fit me, he'd look like he was wearing a tent," Stevonnie defended themself.

"Are you hungry?" Dr. Maheswaran asked, "Would you like something to drink? We have Durian Juice and--"

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Mr. Maheswaran blurted out the question that was burning a hole in his tongue.

Dr. Maheswaran looked at him astonished. She tried to communicate an exasperated "now _really_ , Doug" with her eyes - but that only works if the other person is any good at interpreting eyeball language and at the moment Mr. Maheswaran was... indisposed.

Stevonnie had to stop and ponder the question - which they did out loud.

"Hmm, I've never actually thought about that... I... don't _feel_   like a girl. Or a boy." They sounded a lot like Connie while they spoke, analytical and bright.

"And all the other gems are referred to as 'she' buuuut I don't think that means anything about their genders as such," they continued to muse, sounding more like Steven.

"And of course other people refer to _me_ as 'they'..." Stevonnie finished, looking up at Connie's father. "So I don't think I'm either." They smiled broadly.

"And it doesn't matter either way," Dr. Maheswaran said, glancing sternly towards her husband one more time. She wasn't sure how she was feeling: on one hand Stevonnie was a guest at their home and she wanted to be hospitable, on the other hand she felt protective towards Stevonnie, just like she did towards Connie and Steven. It felt like Stevonnie was a stranger she had known for years.

"But you can ask me anything you want," Stevonnie assured them. "I want you to understand this."

"How did you discover you can do this? Where are Steven and Connie right now? What if you get stuck? If you stay fused too long will Connie and Steven disappear completely? Who decides what you do? What if you eat a donut as Stevonnie and then unfuse, whose stomach does the donut go in?" It turned out Mr. Maheswaran had a lot of questions.

* * *

When all the questions were answered and it was starting to get late, Stevonnie said their goodbyes to the Maheswarans and unfused. Mr. Maheswaran got his coat and started to get ready to drive Steven home. Dr. Maheswaran walked them to the door.

"Meeting Stevonnie confirmed something for me though," Dr. Maheswaran said with a knowing grin. "You two will give me beautiful grandchildren."

" _Mom!_ " Connie shouted, horrified that she had uttered such a thing. Steven blushed so hard he was the same color as his gem.


End file.
